Driving home yesterday from work as I always do - who thinks it will ever be anything but the same old drive. I wish it were. After making a usual turn close to home I saw a little black and white cat lying on the sidewalk at the corner of an intersection...no, that's not right - I thought. I turned the car around and parked in a library that was across the street. The kitty had moved onto the hill next to the sidewalk - as soon as I got closer to him I knew he had been hit by a car.

He was scared and based upon his visible injuries was in great pain (they were terrible). It was raining and cold. Please let me help you kitty, I thought...too scared, too hurt. As I stood there with a blanket in the rain, crying and wondering what to do - people stopped and asked what they could do. Some parked and came to help. It was raining and cold. "We have to do something!", I said - called a vet - cant help unless you bring him in...DIDN'T call animal control because they would NOT be compassionate. Three other women and myself finally figured out a way - get a box from the library without a top, put it over him, get a piece of cardboard form a nearby sign, slide it under him, then wrap the blankets around both to secure him. It took a bit of doing but - IT WORKED!! There kitty, now you're dry and safe and in a quiet place. Let me help you.

One of the women and I took him to a nearby vet. They had stayed open a little late at the request of the woman who had called them a bit earlier. Into an exam room...take the blankets and box off...poor kitty, so very hurt...and so very scared. We put the box back over him and took him to the XRay room. They took the box off and took a preliminary xray - they couldn't see much but there were fractures.

The vet wanted to sedate him completely so they could do a complete exam and full xrays. He would stay overnight with lots of pain meds and antibiotics and then we would decide what could be done. I drove home...

I pulled into my driveway and got a call. It was the vet. "We took the xrays and did the exam...I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do. He is far too damaged." I asked if they would wait until I got back. They did. When I got there she showed me the xrays...how terrible...who would do this and just leave him to suffer??!! The vet said he was most definitely feral and most definitely an un-neutered male.

I held him and petted him as he left this world-peaceful, calm. "No more pain now, no more hunger...be happy little boy...". I asked that he be cremated so that he could come home with me. I wanted to tell his story so that he would not be alone anymore and so he knows there ARE humans who care.

I left the vet's...it was raining, it was cold.